well...it is limiting but only in the exposure side of it, you can't use an extra small arperture to be able to use a longer shutter...buuuuuuuuut....the DOF is MUCH bigger with the compact digitals, because of the small focal length (right? i think..lol)

Yes, you won't get as shallow depth of field due to the smaller sensor size. Similar to a medium format camera having a shallower depth of field than 35mm due to it's much larger film size. You can use a neutral density filter when a lower ISO and really high shutter speed don'y give you enough latitude with f/8. On smaller sensor digicams an f/8 aperture can make images look like they were taken at f/11 or f/16.

Photoshop isn't a cure for all underachievements of our cameras. Shallow DOF (depth of field) blurs the background at different ammounts as objects get farther behind or ahead of the main subject. Selectively bluring the background/foreground in Photoshop blurs everything with the same ammount and looks artificial/fake. For the most background bluring effect from camera, zoom your lens to its greatest focal lengh and use the largest aperture setting available.

Photoshop isn't a cure for all underachievements of our cameras. Shallow DOF (depth of field) blurs the background at different ammounts as objects get farther behind or ahead of the main subject. Selectively bluring the background/foreground in Photoshop blurs everything with the same ammount and looks artificial/fake. For the most background bluring effect from camera, zoom your lens to its greatest focal lengh and use the largest aperture setting available.

I have found the small sensors and focal lengths of non-DSLR cameras require both to get a decent looking outdoor portrait. You can get a graduated blurring with distance using the widest aperture and manually focusing slightly short of the subject, but not enough to give that professional look. If you follow up with some blurring in Photoshop you don't get the same flat blur you would get selecting a sharp background and blurring it. You get a graduated blur that is hard to tell from a 35mm shot if you combine good technique and Photoshop.

I should think 1/4000 sec would handle f2.4 in most circumstances. A polarizer acts as a neutral density filter and does nice things for reflections and polarized skies. Unless you are going for graduated neutral density filters a polarizer is a better choice as a GP filter.